Black Gate City's Second Greatest Taboo

In fact, from the very beginning, when the plan to deter and strike Black Gate City was being developed, some people raised different opinions.

They believed the safest approach was to have three Grand Knights, each leading several lesser knights, to carry out separate ambushes. With the Grand Knight in charge, the chances of the plan's success would be greatly increased.

However, Old Man An refused. Forty years of living as a stranger in a foreign land had taught him the importance and urgency of matters. The fact that ten junior knights were assigned to ambush Red Eyes Ling Ping, Old Zhou Under the Bridge, and the Serpent Sisters, who were Black Gate City knights sent out on official business, was already an honor for them. After all, from City of Rest's perspective, even if these three wanted to join City of Rest, they would at most only be able to obtain the position of a junior knight. With ten times the strength, wasn't that already a high-level suppression that they could easily control?

But what he was most concerned about was Black Gate City.

Even though he knew that Black Gate City was practically deserted, he still waved his hand and sent all three Grand Knights to Black Gate City.

Because he had essentially devoted the most important forces of City of Rest to Black Gate City, he was most concerned about and most at ease with the actions of Black Gate City.

Everything else is just an appetizer.

It must be admitted that these appetizers were not very good, Old Man An was so angry that he didn't touch his chopsticks after the dishes were served.

But that's not important, because there's still the main course of Black Gate City to be served, so he believes the initiative is still in his hands. Therefore, other minor mishaps are not worth losing his composure for the old man.

The only question is, Mingming the Grand Knight have successfully descended upon Black Gate City, why is the young Black Gate City guild master still so calm?

Old Man An glanced at Xiao Xiao's indifferent expression and a hint of displeasure arose in his heart.

Damn these perverts, what I hate most about them is their faces.

Their emotional fluctuations of joy, anger, worry, and anxiety seem different from ordinary people, making it impossible to discern their true inner thoughts from their faces...

Xiao Xiao seemed genuinely unconcerned. The Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge both displayed unexpected strength, but he didn't feel happy; instead, he felt a bit down.

However, the sight of the Grand Knight descending upon Black Gate City put him in a very good mood.

Those three Grand Knights were clearly incredibly powerful. They were on par with the Grand Knight Heart. Although the Grand Knight Heart was killed by Ruan Ruan, it must be admitted that the Grand Knight Heart's strength was far beyond that.

She was killed by Ruan Ruan because she had lost her most powerful branding power at that time.

The other three knights, however, did not possess the power of the brand. The fact that they were on par with her meant that, under normal circumstances, all three of them possessed strength comparable to Black Hand Yang Jia behind the attack.

In fact, it's even worse.

Now, there are only three of them, yet they venture alone into a vast city, their expressions revealing a relaxed demeanor.

Along the way, they weren't unaware of being watched, but with just a glance, the other party would vanish without a trace. They even sensed the city's rejection of them, but their powerful mental strength allowed them to ignore this rejection and easily reach the city center. Looking at the dazzling streets, imposing buildings, and towering landmarks, the three of them had a subtle feeling that they were above the city, looking down upon it.

"Waaaaah..."

Just as they arrived at the largest intersection in the city and stood still.

Passing vehicles and pedestrians were immediately dissatisfied. Some turned on their high beams and shone them in the face, while others angrily honked their horns and cursed, "Where did these three lunatics come from, standing in the middle of the road?"

There was even an angry, tattooed man who kicked open the car door, grabbed a knife, and charged at them.

The three of them frowned. The leader, the Grand Knight Spade, glanced displeasedly at the Grand Knight Yin Qing beside him. The Grand Knight Yin Qing then glanced displeasedly at the Grand Knight Clover beside him. The Grand Knight Clover realized that, despite being the fourth most powerful figure in City of Rest, he was actually the youngest in terms of seniority in this operation. He spat on the ground in a huff, then his pupils contracted slightly. He looked coldly at the noisy vehicles around him, slowly raised his hand, and then suddenly clenched it and pulled hard.

In an instant, all the surrounding sounds and noisy lights disappeared.

The entire city seemed to have been forcibly divided into several layers, and he grabbed the top layer and ripped it off forcefully.

So the bustling traffic and crowds disappeared, leaving only the lonely buildings and streetlights, empty and desolate, facing the three of them.

"This is so annoying..."

The Grand Knight Clover muttered, "Sometimes I think it wouldn't be bad if we eliminated all these noisy people and only a few of us were left, living in this quiet world."

"Childish!"

Grand Knight Yin Qing scoffed, sneering, "Don't actually immerse yourself in the world of your imagination. The idea that you're the only one left in the city is just an illusion. You can't live without the other people. Your favorite Q-boy milk needs someone to produce it for you, and your penchant for red-light districts requires someone to traffic innocent girls for you. Your house needs someone to collect rent... If the original inhabitants really disappear, you'll even lose your own abilities!"

"You should know that our abilities are actually privileges within the ocean of the mind. Once the ocean of the mind disappears, we will lose our abilities."

"..."

The Clover Knight was clearly displeased to be scolded so soon, and could only purse his lips without replying.

The Grand Knight Spade beside him said coldly, "Let's not talk about that now. Achieving our established goal is the most important thing."

"Reckless."

Grand Knight Yin Qing said, "Our understanding of this world is our greatest asset for survival. Therefore, discussions about our understanding of this world are always reasonable and necessary."

The Grand Knight Spade's expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

This theoretically blocky Grand Knight is just so annoying...

Logically, Old Man An bestowed codenames upon the four Grand Knight based on the four suits, they should have been Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. However, the Clubs Knight felt that the name was too effeminate, so he insisted on giving himself the Grand Knight Clover, which had a different meaning. This was understandable. However, this Grand Knight Yin Qing always complained that the Diamond Knight's name was too unpleasant. He argued with Old Man An from morning till night, stayed at Old Man An's house that day, and continued arguing the next day, leaving Old Man An speechless.

There was no other way but to let her use her real name as a code name, calling her Grand Knight Yin Qing.

However, this matter really displeased Old Man An, who has some obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he was so angry that he almost had a heart attack.

For the next two years, Old Man An would not call her by her code name during meetings.

Not long ago, the Grand Knight Heart died, and everyone else was saddened and grieved. But this person immediately applied to Old Man An, asking if he could inherit the Grand Knight Heart's name.

Old Man An refused, because he intended to reserve the code name of the Grand Knight Heart for the Black Gate City Guild Master.

Because of this, Grand Knight Yin Qing was sullen and unhappy until this mission. And when she was in a bad mood, she was even more prone to arguing with people. Basically, she would respond to every word someone said.

Even though he is the chief Grand Knight Spade, she doesn't give him any face when she argues with him!

The Grand Knight Spade could only force himself to endure it, pretending not to hear her words, and said coldly, "Three targets, should we attack them all at once, or pick one each?"

Before arriving in Black Gate City, they had already been personally assigned three targets by Old Man An.

First, find the corpses of the secondary Mysterious Source that were previously hunted down by Black Gate City and bring them back to City of Rest, thus completely extinguishing their hopes.

Second, assassinate Mister Ye. Recently, information has surfaced on the forums that his power path is the type that all outsiders dislike. In addition, he is an assistant left behind by the Old Chairman of Black Gate City. Killing him would make the situation much cleaner.

Third, to verify whether Black Hand Yang Jia Dante Organization, is dead or alive.

Upon hearing this, the Grand Knight Clover fell into deep thought, while the Grand Knight Yin Qing sneered, "Separate? How?"

"The three goals overlap in many ways. If you want to separate them, does that mean we should all just do our own part and completely ignore everything else?"

"..."

The Grand Knight Spade frowned deeply; he was really annoyed by her.

He said in a muffled voice, "Then let's not divide them up. Just complete them in order."

"You don't distinguish between right and wrong at all? Someone like you wants to be our boss?"

Grand Knight Yin Qing sneered, "If we don't divide them up, then when we encounter someone later, who will go first? The strongest one? Or the weakest underling?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the Grand Knight Clover.

Grand Knight Clover immediately turned his head away and looked at the empty space. Anyway, he wasn't the weakest. If he had to choose the weakest one, it would definitely be Grand Knight Heart...

... Who told her to be the first to die?

"Just handle it according to past experience. Don't you want to finish this quickly and go back for a late-night snack?"

The Grand Knight Spade, suppressing the trembling of his hand from anger, could only patiently turn his head and speak earnestly to Grand Knight Yin Qing.

Grand Knight Yin Qing originally wanted to continue arguing, but when he suddenly heard Grand Knight Spade mention midnight snacks, he pursed his lips and temporarily held back. Then the three of them separated slightly and kept a distance from each other.

They are indeed very experienced in how to deal with a city.

When City of Rest was seeking allies, many cities, either disagreeing with the City of Rest or offering conditions that City of Rest found unacceptable, would send one or two of their members to try and persuade the other party.

Most of them were persuaded, while some simply disappeared.

Having gained so much experience in doing this kind of thing, the three of them were even too lazy to hold another operational meeting.

"The Godslaying Blade!"

After they stood separately, the Grand Knight Spade took a deep breath and slowly raised his right hand. The next moment, a crack suddenly appeared on his head, which then slowly widened until his head was opened, revealing white brain matter interspersed with some red flesh. From within this still pulsating flesh, a short, nail-like blade, about ten centimeters long, was slowly squeezed out of his flesh, bit by bit.

The Grand Knight Spade gripped the short blade, took a deep breath, and suddenly, with both hands, plunged it downwards with force.

"Laugh!"

The black short blade pierced directly into the asphalt ground.

The next moment, they vaguely discovered that the city was writhing, as if it were flesh and blood struggling unconsciously in pain, and they heard invisible groans of pain in their minds.

[S-Rank Special Item - Godslaying Blade]

[Function: To trap the Mysterious Source]

[When the Godslaying Blade is driven into a city, it is as if a thorn has been driven into the flesh and blood of the City Will. The power of the City Will is not unmovable, but any movement will cause unbearable pain.]

[...]

The Grand Knight of City of Rest, upon arriving at Black Gate City, immediately impaled the Godslaying Blade in the city to prevent any deviation from the will of Black Gate City.

Of course, another function is to counter the wish-granting mechanism of Black Gate City.

Although they didn't think Black Gate City was a particularly formidable opponent, they had analyzed it carefully. Since Black Gate City possessed a wish-granting mechanism, it meant that the City Will must be involved in some of their plans.

Only with the participation of the City Will can it be possible to open its own weapons museum and rent out the high-level weapons inside to others.

I don't know exactly how it was done, but giving her a stab first is no problem.

"How cruel..."

Grand Knight Yin Qing sighed softly, took out a silver-white tablet computer from his briefcase, and then threw it directly on the ground.

The computer remained silent for a moment, then its metal parts suddenly began to split apart, from which a large amount of flesh and blood seeped out. This flesh and blood formed shapes that resembled both tentacles and electronic components, complete with connectors. It fluttered in the air, then suddenly and forcefully drove itself into the ground, forcibly connecting to the flesh and blood body of Black Gate City. Immediately afterward, the screen began to flash rapidly, skipping over lines of information, vaguely revealing three keywords that the computer was currently searching for:

[Crossing]

Yang Jia

[Industry]

[...]

[...]

"The City of Rest has this kind of capability?"

At this moment in City of Rest, Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised to see this scene and looked at the Old Man An across the round table.

"Young man, your understanding of this world is still very shallow."

At this moment, no emotion could be discerned from Old Man An's face, but one could sense that his mood had calmed down considerably. He looked at Xiao Xiao indifferently and said, "The world of the spiritual ocean is the realm of divine authority."

"But within divine authority, none of your secrets can be hidden."

"..."

Xiao Xiao also had to admit that City of Rest had performed exceptionally well in some aspects.

A heartfelt exclamation. "Amazing..."

"Has it been found?"

In Black Gate City, even the Clover Knight couldn't help but urge, "Shouldn't you update your computer system?"

"Shut up!"

Grand Knight Yin Qing coldly rebuked, "Do you know what's the most annoying thing about you?"

"Mingming don't understand, but you keep asking all sorts of questions!"

"We need to search for information about these three things in the entire spiritual ocean of Black Gate City. How can it be done so quickly? Don't you usually take a long time to find a movie on your hard drive?"

"..."

Grand Knight Clover was both angry and unconvinced, muttering, "Do you know what's the most annoying thing about you?"

He spoke very softly, but Grand Knight Yin Qing still heard him and sneered, "Of course I know."

"What you hate most about me is that I love to argue with people."

"But what good will knowing do?"

"You're the ones who are upset, not me..."

"..."

The Grand Knight Clover was speechless, wanting to say something but unable to find a powerful retort.

However, at this moment, the Grand Knight Spade, who had impaled the Godslaying Blade into Black Gate City, suddenly frowned slightly. "Don't make a fuss..."

Grand Knight Yin Qing raised an eyebrow, about to retort, but Grand Knight Spade had already glanced around and continued, "Something seems amiss..."

"... It's too quiet."

"..."

The other two Grand Knight also realized what he meant after hearing what he said.

The original inhabitants of Black Gate City have been sealed away by the Grand Knight Clover, so it's normal for it to be quiet, but the silence is somewhat strange.

Even if the natives were sealed away, why didn't the outsiders from Black Gate City appear?

Even though the knights and guild master of Black Gate City have left, there must still be a few newcomers, right?

Even if the strangers of Black Gate City were slow to react and did not notice the arrival of the three of them, Black Gate City was already pinned down by the Godslaying Blade. There was no reason for it not to issue a mysterious command to the remaining strangers, demanding that they come and stop it.

But strangely enough, the surroundings are still quiet, and not a single person has appeared.

They actually managed to take over the entire Black Gate City so smoothly, and were freely searching for all the information within it.

So...

"There should have been someone who came to stop us..."

The Grand Knight Spade spoke slowly, looking up at the empty city and the quiet streetlights, and said slowly, "The occurrence of this situation only proves one thing..."

"... They've arrived!"

"..."

This seemingly random remark startled the other two knights, who quickly scanned their surroundings, but unfortunately, all they could see was emptiness; they couldn't even spot a shadow.

This contrast made them all feel slightly uncomfortable, as if some unexpected situation had occurred.

"Ah?"

But in that instant, they suddenly heard a somewhat panicked voice. "How are you guys so powerful?"

"Whoosh!"

The sudden sound made the three Grand Knight shudder and immediately look in the direction from which it came.

But all he saw was an empty intersection. Just as he was feeling puzzled, he heard a rustling sound behind him, and a timid voice said, "I thought I hid well, but I didn't expect you to find me..."

The three Grand Knight stiffened slightly and slowly turned around.

Then, a Xiao Xiao, pale-faced man, holding a tattered rag doll, crawled out of a trash can not far away.

Calling him a man would be an exaggeration; he was short and thin, more like a boy.

No one knows when he hid in that trash can, but now that he's been discovered, he's standing there with half his body exposed under the trash can lid, looking rather embarrassed.

Looking at him, even the Grand Knight Spade' pupils contracted slightly, trying to hide the surprise on his face, and he simply said, "When did you get here?"

The thin boy hugged the rag doll tightly, his eyes darting around, not daring to look them in the eye, and whispered:

"I've been following you ever since you entered the city..."

"..."

"?"

The three Grand Knights of City of Rest felt a strange sense of unease and subconsciously thought it was impossible.

If that's the case, doesn't that mean this person has been following the three of them for at least ten minutes? There's no reason they shouldn't have noticed.

Grand Knight Yin Qing's mind raced, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the thin boy and asked, "So, who are you?"

"My Little Four, and I am the president's assistant."

Little Four secretly looked up at the woman, then looked away and said, "Our guild leader is Brother Xiao. Brother Xiao is very capable..."

"Little Four?"

The three Grand Knight exchanged a glance and shook their heads slightly.

Never heard of it.

Black Gate City has Grand Knight, the help of Black Hand Yang Jia, a mysterious Mister Ye, a very brave rising star named Ruan Ruan, and even a few newcomers who seem to have good potential.

But Little Four...

... I haven't really heard of him, and I don't remember him being involved in any recent events.

"Is that so?"

The Grand Knight Yin Qing couldn't help but laugh. Logically speaking, they could eliminate every foreigner who appeared in Black Gate City.

But faced with such a timid little child who seemed to have no hostility, and with absolute self-confidence, they simply couldn't muster any murderous intent.

He just smiled and said, "Good boy, your guild leader is indeed powerful. It's precisely because he's so powerful that he's caused such a mess to your Black Gate City. So, you should go and hide first!"

"Once Black Gate City is taken over by City of Rest, you can come out and find yourself a better position."

"..."

Little Four was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and her eyes lit up. "You're actually a pretty nice person..."

But he immediately shook his head and said, "However, I still have to tell you, you'd better leave quickly, otherwise we'll become very angry and it will be terrible..."

Upon hearing this, Grand Knight Yin Qing instinctively exclaimed, "Really? I don't believe it!"

This was purely her instinctive reaction, and compared to the Grand Knight Spade and the Grand Knight Clover, this statement was already quite gentle.

But Little Four, who was standing seven or eight meters away by the trash can opposite her, paused for a moment upon hearing this. "Don't believe me?"

Grand Knight Yin Qing subconsciously put on a smile, and was about to speak when suddenly, Little Four's figure beside the trash can vanished. At that moment, a strong sense of crisis surged into his heart. Although Grand Knight Yin Qing and the other two Grand Knights did not attack Little Four, they were not relaxed in their vigilance because Little Four's appearance was so strange. The moment Little Four disappeared, they were already on edge, and with a slight movement, they had already formed a triangular formation that was most convenient for them to take care of and support each other.

However, they only stood in that position; they did not sense any real attack.

"Hehe..."

The three Grand Knight looked around warily, their doubts swirling in their minds, when they suddenly heard a difficult and strange noise. The Grand Knight Spade and the Grand Knight Clover turned around and were immediately startled.

A bloody gash appeared on Grand Knight Yin Qing's neck; her neck had been cut open.

The flesh rolled and blood gushed out.

But Grand Knight Yin Qing possessed her own abilities. At this moment, the exposed flesh began to move towards the center, with writhing flesh trying to stitch it back together.

This sudden attack, though it didn't kill Grand Knight Yin Qing, certainly gave them a fright.

What the heck?

... They only had time to form this thought, but before the word 'ghost' even appeared in their minds, they heard a sudden "Huh?" from the side.

Little Four, who was standing behind them holding a rag doll, was clearly surprised to see the wound on Grand Knight Yin Qing's neck automatically sewing up. Then, he threw the rag doll out of his arms again, and the next moment, his figure disappeared mysteriously.

"Puff..."

The three, including Grand Knight Yin Qing, were all shocked and had no time to react before they heard a muffled thud.

The next moment, both Grand Knight Spade and Clover were sprayed with blood and stared blankly as they saw that the wound on Grand Knight Yin Qing's neck was gone.

The wound indicates a break at the junction of the neck and head.

Now, her entire head has flown off and rolled to the ground.

This terrifying and shocking scene even gave both of them a sudden chill down their spines.

"Laugh..."

Suddenly, octopus-like tentacles flew out from inside the neck cavity of Grand Knight Yin Qing, wriggled rapidly on the ground, found his head, and then forcefully lifted it back towards his neck cavity.

Her face was filled with resentment and malice; she wished she could tear Little Four to pieces the moment she got her head back.

But before the head could be reattached to the neck cavity, a soft cry filled with terror rang out behind them, "Ah?"

Little Four's worldview has been shattered, it's terrifying!

It's terrifying enough that this woman survived having her throat cut, but to survive having her head severed—is she even human?

A strong sense of horror enveloped his entire body. He suddenly hugged the rag doll in his arms tightly. At the same time, the Grand Knight Clover, who was not far away, also accurately spotted Little Four's location. He turned around abruptly and grabbed at him. This grab seemed to be able to take away the entire world. Just as he could tear away the bustling current state of Black Gate City and turn the city into a desolate street, his grab now seemed to be trying to seize all the real things around Little Four.

However, when he tried to grab it, he only caught a black shadow, which was the night in Black Gate City.

At the same time, the head had been pulled back into the neck cavity, and the wound was quickly stitched up. The resentment and anger on the face of the Grand Knight Yin Qing were indescribable.

She opened her mouth wide, as if to unleash a furious curse.

But she had only just opened her mouth, before she could actually utter a curse, when another dark shadow flashed beside her, and the head on her neck vanished instantly, leaving only a few broken tentacles swaying weakly.

Five or six meters away, Little Four held a tattered rag doll in one hand and the head of Grand Knight Yin Qing in the other, looking at Grand Knight Spade and Grand Knight Clover with a face full of terror.

One Grand Knight Yin Qing had made him kill three times.

How terrifying must the other two be?

At the same time, the Grand Knight Spade and the Grand Knight Clover were also staring blankly at Little Four.

What exactly is this ghost-like thing?

Their eyes met, and after a long while, both sides suddenly jumped back at the same time. The Grand Knight Spade and the Grand Knight Clover jumped back to guard against the other side's attack, and at the same time immediately took out their enhancement items to prepare for a counterattack.

Little Four, however, jumped back a step and immediately disappeared into the night, carrying the head of Grand Knight Yin Qing.

If you can't win, run!

"Splash..."

In contrast to the eerie and oppressive atmosphere of Black Gate City, the commotion was much greater in City of Rest. The moment Old Man An saw Little Four carrying away the head of Grand Knight Yin Qing, he jumped up with a bang, smashing countless bowls, chopsticks, and dishes.

The wrinkles on his face instantly spread out and then closed again, his aged eyes filled with disbelief, coldness, and shock:

"Forbidden!"

"Your Black Gate City actually has two people who have completed the fourth stage of enhancement?"

"..."

There was a hint of questioning and anger in his words.

Because City of Rest is too loyal to the Mysterious Source, it is unlikely that any forbidden-level experts will appear that would displease the Mysterious Source.

Because the word "taboo" represents a concept that outsiders should not touch, once the power of outsiders begins to enter this level, it will arouse the dissatisfaction of the Mysterious Source.

Only in a few exceptional cases will outsiders enter the fourth stage of enhancement, promised by the Mysterious Source.

However, this special situation cannot be called a "taboo".

How significant is the impact of taboos?

Previously, Xiao Xiao obtained the Unquenched Heart and successfully strengthened it, which had already stirred up some kind of undercurrent. It was because of this that Mister Du, the secondary Mysterious Source, was attracted to it.

But Old Man An believed he had made sufficient preparations.

But no one expected that the taboos of Black Gate City weren't just one, but two...

... One was extremely famous, known to everyone in the entire circle of strangers, while the other remained completely silent, unnoticed by anyone.

Even with his good temper, Old Man An couldn't possibly remain unperturbed by such a scene.

Black Gate City has some nerve. Even within Dante Organization and Hell Organization, how many taboos are there?

There are two Black Gate City too!

However, he did not expect that, in response to his angry questioning, Xiao Xiao, who was holding a wine glass across the round table and pretending to be innocent, also looked somewhat bewildered and innocent.

Dumbly, he said to Old Man An, "If I were to say that I don't even know the details of this matter..."

"... Do you believe it?"